What would you do if you couldn’t get a job?

[Emperor Constantine]

Move back home to the small Acadian (Canadian Cajun) fishing village I grew up in on Canada’s east coast, surrounded by friends and family and engage in the traditional work (fisheries and forestry) that people have been doing there for the past 300 years or so. Cleaning fish and delimbing trees isn’t easy and the pay is low but people back home don’t let their own kind fall into dire straights, there’s a lot of helping and sharing in the community, much of it centred around the Catholic church and the hockey rink, it’s been like that for a long time.

My plan is awfully similar: head up to Northern Alaska, where there is work for every able-bodied man, regardless of criminal history, industry experience, or anything else that’s a factor when job hunting in lower 48. It’s way too cold and a tad too isolated for my taste, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

 

[pondababa]

Prolly look for something in the meantime, some kind of lower wage job or even manual labor, perhaps a trade if you have the skills or time to invest in training. While working, I would work on either being self employed somehow or working with a smaller business or company where you may not get drowned out as much.

 

[RexImperator]

Why were you let go from your last job that you had for a few months?

I don’t really know other than they said, “It’s not a good fit” and “We think you’re more of a hardware person than a software person. You should be doing mechanical design.” Debugging 30 year old legacy code in an obsolete language almost nobody uses anymore wasn’t exactly thrilling work, anyway.

How many interview have you gone on?
How many second interviews/call backs?

A few phone screens. Only two in-person interviews. Back in January, I was the second place choice for a position but didn’t get the job.

Did you get any offers at all?
Were you applying for similar jobs?

No offers. Mostly mechanical design and similar type jobs.

Looking from the outside, why do you think you didn't get a call back/response/or hired?

No idea. If I had to guess, I’d say perhaps the companies are looking for something specific, maybe some particular experience I lack, and I’m a generalist.

When was the last time you got your resume reviewed by a head hunter/recruiter or a friend who might be in the industry?

Last fall, before getting the last job.

 

[kaotic]

Do you honestly think you're aggressively applying for jobs in your field wherever you can?
Are you using a recruiting company or headhunting company?
How are you surviving without a job at the moment? Unemployment check?
What's your living arrangements like?


I'm not trying to be critical but it doesn't seem like you've lit a fire under your ass to find any work.

There's some pretty decent advice, but you need at least a job for now as a "stepping stone" to at least get you in work mode.

That job you shouldn't be picky with, I mean there's some good advice but drastic changes to get jobs suggested, not for the light hearted.

What's troubling is that you admitted to failing at your fitness thread.

I also remember you had a never had a girlfriend thread we helped with also, along with not having friends, etc.


It doesn't seem there's much motivation in your life, why? (serious question)

Do you feel discouraged? Why?

Or do you feel motivated?


I ask all this based on all the threads you created, which you've received 100's of posts with great advice.

You ask alot of "What if" questions threads.

 

[TheFinalEpic]

Start another company.

 

[Captain Gh]

learning HTML & CSS

I used to do static websites 20 years ago. Hated that stuff. So boring. I went into science and engineering so I could get away from it.

I was self-employed a few years ago. That business failed. (Also, it’s not good not having health insurance.) I went back to school and got the engineering masters degree in order to get back into the job market, which I successfully did for a few months, but then I was let go.

...if you're still the same from your failed fitness thread a couple of years back... may God help you!

Yes, I think I’ll need it.

And for how long were you self-employed? I hate to say it... but Kaotic is right. Doesn't seem like there's a fire deep down in you about nothing. I use to be the same way... and that's bad. Now I used to be pretty messed up... and I've been working on myself with NLP (since 2013 off and on) I went from a fat virgin to a DayGamer... fell off the track to bounce back a couple of times... and now for the last 17 months... working diligently to get my excessive eating pattern in check. Now imagine what it can do for you as well!

Don't let the PUA Website fool you: The Mind OS by Paul Dobransky(free book) + 2 books from L. Michael Hall (Winning the Inner Game + Mind Lines: Lines for changing minds)are the sole reason I'm not homeless at the moment. I suggest you read all 3. You're way too deep in the Game to be able to change without help my friend! The mind is a Pandora's box... and healing takes time to be resolved! As a society, nobody likes to be in contact with a week man... that's just the way it is! Use you current employment income time wisely to build yourself up away from the prying eyes while you can.

 

[RexImperator]

Do you honestly think you're aggressively applying for jobs in your field wherever you can?
...
I'm not trying to be critical but it doesn't seem like you've lit a fire under your ass to find any work.
...
It doesn't seem there's much motivation in your life, why? (serious question)

Do you feel discouraged? Why?

Or do you feel motivated?

Yes, I think I do need to be more aggressive in my job search. I think part of the problem is that I don't really know what I'm doing, when it comes to looking for work. Other than sending out resumes and the usual stuff, I find it mystifying.

I also have hit some kind of point of a sense of discouragement in life. It started setting in during my last job. Perhaps part of that was because I had put so much effort towards accomplishing a goal, and once accomplished, it wasn't what I had hoped for.

 

[Thomas the Rhymer]

Do you honestly think you're aggressively applying for jobs in your field wherever you can?
...
I'm not trying to be critical but it doesn't seem like you've lit a fire under your ass to find any work.
...
It doesn't seem there's much motivation in your life, why? (serious question)

Do you feel discouraged? Why?

Or do you feel motivated?

Yes, I think I do need to be more aggressive in my job search. I think part of the problem is that I don't really know what I'm doing, when it comes to looking for work. Other than sending out resumes and the usual stuff, I find it mystifying.

Have you considered networking as a jobhunting strategy?

 

[kaotic]

Do you honestly think you're aggressively applying for jobs in your field wherever you can?
...
I'm not trying to be critical but it doesn't seem like you've lit a fire under your ass to find any work.
...
It doesn't seem there's much motivation in your life, why? (serious question)

Do you feel discouraged? Why?

Or do you feel motivated?

Yes, I think I do need to be more aggressive in my job search. I think part of the problem is that I don't really know what I'm doing, when it comes to looking for work. Other than sending out resumes and the usual stuff, I find it mystifying.

I also have hit some kind of point of a sense of discouragement in life. It started setting in during my last job. Perhaps part of that was because I had put so much effort towards accomplishing a goal, and once accomplished, it wasn't what I had hoped for.

How do you have a Master's Degree in Engineering yet you find job hunting mystifying?

Thomas is right about networking, I don't understand why an engineer didn't start networking on campus during his last year, or join clubs, internship, on campus job fairs, the list goes on.

It sounds like you accomplished your goal...by just going through the motions...you need more than that in life.

Did your last job trigger this discouragement?


I mean even the most oddball engineers we hire did alot of what I mentioned along with our interns.

 

[wwtl]

Come to Germany. The country is starved for high IQ professionals.

You mean starved for high IQ professionals that will work for a shit wage

Starved high IQ professionals with a flawless resume, who work for a shit wage.

The strict requirements only loosen up, when they get really desperate. But it doesn't pay off to get in then, because you're the first to go, when the economy dives the next time. There is no meritocracy, only diversity quota, gender, age and length of employment counts.

 

[wellrockthecity]

Buy a piece of land in some cheap southern Italy towns and grown my own food (veggie, fruits, chickens etc.) + make my own jams and liquors.
That would satisfy most of my diet needs and I can trade the extra I got for fish, oil and so on.

If I am in urgent need for money I could also get a stall in a bio market and sell my products there.

 

[Bolly]

Move to the flyover states to do work that no one else wants to do and save your spirit while you're at it. You can think and laugh of all the miserable fucks stuck in traffic in some cesspool concrete jungle who have to listen HR cunts as you cruise down dirt roads 1000 miles from nowhere. Hell, driving around with some fencing tools visible and you get guys approaching you asking you to come work for them, because "no one wants to work". If you're green as a John Deere, just gotta find that ad that says no experience necessary. Be on time, be a sponge, don't bitch and lay off the booze and drugs. Save the last two for off season

http://www.ranchworldads.com/index.php?cat_id=4&filterstate=&filter=4

http://classifieds.thefencepost.com/category/Employment

 

[Captain Gh]

And I forgot to mention in my previous reply about a book named The Fastlane Millionaire. Now the author MJ Demarco is as brash as they come... but that might be the tool to light the fire you bloody well need. Since you've already been a Business Owner... you simply gotta dig deep to go back to that place. So many people don't even want to contemplate that place... so you're already ahead of the Game!

 

[Fitman2018]

online fitness coaching is going to be my go to, it seems legit. If you can land a few high paying clients 2k for 2 month programs you can live anywhere and just 5-10 clients your living good.

 

[sterlingarcher]

Maybe you're dealing with the same block I was... applying for jobs you didn't actually want, and subconsciously sabotaging it by sending a ropey CV I didn't even proof read.

If you don't actually want to get hired, maybe better to find a different goal.

 

[flyinghorse]

Teach English online if you are a native English speaker - it tends to only be $20 per hour but its enough to keep the wolves from the door short term or when living in poor countries (you can live v.well in poor nations on 20 per hour).

 

[Pete]

I’ve been looking for work since January and starting to think it might not happen. I may be too pessimistic... However, whether this is true or not, what would you do if you were unemployable? How would you make money to live?

You may not be getting the job/salary you want, because you think you deserve X or your above X job. I've been there, in the end you need to learn for yourself that a degree does not make you deserve anything or be above anything.

Also, jobs are overrated, novelty helps you like it for a few months, then you're back to hating your life every morning.

 

[jimukr75]

I would do same as I do now..nothing. Been retired since 37.

 

[Wreckt]

Oh look, its another whine fest thread started by Rex.

 

[Renton1875]

Oh look, its another whine fest thread started by Rex.

What's is it that's wrong with you kiddo? 9 post's spitefully calling out long time members. That's not how the forum works buddy, Rex has had his up's & down's but asking for help in situations is always the first step. Whether he takes the advice the forum members give him (usually good advice) is really up to him. Keep the sarc for when you meet up with your fellow high school virgins.